Hydrocolonialism and the Thwake Multipurpose Dam: Assessing scalar discussions of multiple waters in a dam-altered landscape

Despite the inherent colonial legacies, water infrastructure projects remain fundamental for the development agenda, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In post-colonial Africa, the construction of dams is considered a gateway to economic development and promises local security through global investments. However, these projects continue to exercise their colonial and imperial exploitative mission in the communities in which they are built. The Thwake Dam Development Project, currently under construction in Makueni, Kenya, is rearranging lifeways for the host communities, altering local water use and access, disconnecting families, and facilitating flows of capital, people, and illnesses. We qualitatively examine these hydrosocial changes by interrogating perceptions of infrastructure development. We conducted interviews with 8 residents living near the dam and reviewed government reports on local water resources and dam construction. In this article, we compare and contrast water discourses between these texts by applying the framework of hydrocolonialism and the concept of heterogeneous waters. Our analysis reveals inherent colonial practices in the Thwake Dam project that extend beyond water relationships to include land, animals, and culture, furthering the multiplicity of water. Additionally, our findings reveal multiple types and uses of water and expose the unusable waters that colonial legacies propagate. By combining a hydrocolonial approach and the concept of water heterogeneity, we reveal the contemporary logic of decision-makers in everyday water access. These findings are crucial to understanding the concurrent effects of the climate crisis, the state’s vision for economically stable futures, and the geopolitical arrangements under which hydrological projects are designed.